Their business is growing. The stock is also a value play because the stock is cheap based on its multiple compared to its peers. There has been tremendous growth in the area of mergers and acquisitions which is one of Goldman's specialties. Some people complain about Goldman's employee compensation, but I think the compensation could be key to the quality and overall growth of their business because it drives their employees. There is no real evidence of negative effects on Goldman from subprime loans, but only time will tell.

Cost cuts and acquisitions could drive earnings much higher over the next few years. Even though it is only a 5% stake in the Indian National stock exchange, the position will provide to be very profitable for NYX. Also the tie-up with the Tokyo stock exchange will help bring new Chinese and Japanese companies to the NYSE, which will eventually drive revenue and earnings. Euronext is experiencing incredible growth currently and this growth will be seen in the share price and earnings of the combined entity. I do not currently own this stock. I am waiting for it to start looking better technically for an upward move. I think that NYX will bid for a futures exchange. This could cause some downside in the stock short-term, but long-term, I believe that a futures exchange will increase the overall value of NYX as a company and as a stock.

L.J. International is a great way to play the growth in Chinese demand for jewelry. The company just recently exceeded it's target of positive EBITDA before the end of 2006 and 40 or more stores operating in China. At the end of 2006, JADE had 42 stores open and operating in China. The long term goals of the company are to have 100 stores operating in China before the end of 2007. The original goal was 100 stores in China by the end of 2008, but the company recently shortened its time period by a year. The last report that I read says the company has 45 stores operating in China and the goal of 100 is very attainable. The price may pull back in the short term due to the recent 200% run but I am still very bullish on this name. The company also has a mine -to-factory model that takes gold from it's own mines to it's Shenzhen factory. This model allows the increasing price of gold to have little effect on input prices for JADE. My price target for this stock is $30.

OMNI helps find oil in remote locations. The company is also expanding in the Gulf of Mexico and into the Rocky Mountains. OMNI has also made many smaller acquisitions that will benefit the well-being of the company in the long run. The company is also undervalued on a growth basis. It trades at a P/E of 12.7 while it's peers with less growth trade at an average of 16 times earnings. I think that in future, the company will have outstanding earnings. The current estimates are way too low for this company. This stock is way undervalued.

Have you seen how small the new version of the iPod shuffle is? I am a runner and a cyclist and love it. The iPhone is one of the most visually pleasing handheld device that I have ever seen. Also, there is a revenue sharing deal with Cingular, which means that Apple would receive part of the monthly bill that iPhone users would pay to Cingular. One thing that tells me that Apple got a really good deal and Cingular possibly a not-as-good deal is Apple originally offered the iPhone to Verizon. Verizon turned it down saying that Apple had too many strings attached to the deal. Steve Jobs and his crew at Apple are innovators and they know what the American consumer desires in handheld electronics and computers. The recent increase in Mac sales is something that I have been predicting for a long time and I am glad to see it.

Eddie Lampert is a great money manager. He is the Chairman of Sear's and largest shareholder(ESL Investments) of Sear's stock. Nearly 56% of the outstanding stock is locked up either with ESL Investments or other insiders who are obligated to hold onto the stock. I think that eventually the retail side of the business may return. The Sear's ideology of selling items with a higher profit margin will benefit the company in the long run. Also, the potential of combining K-mart's and Sear's in markets where they both have a presence could really create a large amount of cash. The cash will either be used to buy back stock, give shareholder's a dividend, or acquire profitable, growing businesses. Any way, the eventual outcome will benefit shareholders. Sears has had a very effective buyback, due to the amount of the buyback itself and the amount of stock held by insiders. Based on his previous actions, I think that Lampert will use the pullback to buyback more stock. I have a very long-term outlook on this stock.

All of this video content uses up bandwidth. LVLT's purchase of dark fiber or unused fiber optics that were put in place during the tech boom of the late 1990's has given LVLT a huge amount of bandwith capacity. The amount of video on the internet is increasing and will continue to increase. LVLT can provide the bandwidth required for the streaming video and video downloads. Also, the company has been buying back its debt by issuing stock in order to become cash flow positive. While the issuing of stock dilutes earnings, being cash flow positive is a great thing for shareholders.

There is a cult following of Jones Soda and its products. I know people who collect their memorabilia. Also, their energy drink, Whoop-a$$, has a catchy name that just makes you wanna try one. The company's amount of shelf-space in stores in which it is sold has been increasing.